Physicians are trained to diagnose a disease and select an appropriate medication based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. However, even the most carefully chosen and optimal medication cannot work if the patient does not take it appropriately. Medication compliance, an essential component of a successful health outcome, is largely in the domain of the patient. The responsibility for fulfillment of the prescribed regimen lies with the patient.
As the population ages, and as people anticipate living longer since they live healthy and vigorous lives well, the people have become increasingly reliant on medications. However, as more people take more medicines, the opportunities for non-compliance, for over-taking or under-taking medicines or for mixing drugs that result in negative outcomes and even serious consequences to the patient's health, increase. Until now, no monitor system provides the accurate medicine from the pharmaceutical factories to the patients. One of the reasons is that the patients are always confused about what, where and when the set of pills to be administrated. It is quite difficult to monitor whether the patients take the correct pills on time.
In order to solve this problem, attempts have been made to provide various forms of apparatuses and systems to assure that the patients are taking their medications as prescribed. Generally, there are two methods of using the labels and the sensors, for example, based on IR, magnet technologies or the like to distinguish each slot of the pills corresponding to the medication schedule. The method of using the labels is very low cost, but the elderly is easy to make the mistakes and increase the non-compliance. The second method of using the sensors is only capable of monitoring whether the door of the pill slot is opened or not, and also is very expensive and has the drawbacks of portable inconvenience and high power consumption.
The specific apparatuses and systems increasing and/or monitoring the medication compliance may be known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,978,564B2, 8,193,918B1 and US2010/0314282A1, for example.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,978,564B2 relates to an interactive medication container or console that holds or organizes one or more medication vials or containers. Each vial has a memory strip containing mediation and prescription information, and also a reminder unit that is attached to and portable with the individual vials. The console or reminder unit reads the information strip of the vial and communicates this information to or interacts with the patients to remind them to take the medication. The system disclosed in the patent is very structurally complicated and expensive.
The U.S. Pat. No. 8,193,918B1 issued to Eran Shavelsky et al discloses an interactive medication dispensing system comprising a body including a bottom housing and a top bezel movably securing over the bottom housing, a plurality of cups received in the respective orifices of the bottom housing to store the pills taken by the user at a single corresponding predetermined time, an on-board processor for the treatment schedule, and a server for transmission of alerts. This system integrate the pills into one housing according to the treatment schedule, and monitors the compliance by determining when an indicated cup is accessed, based upon at least one of manipulating a lid and/or placing into, removing from or replacing into the correct orifice based upon the indication. Since all the cups are accessible, errors of taking the wrong pills can be introduced. Also, the configuration of this system is complex.
The US patent application no. 2010/0314282A1 relates to a pill organizer comprising a plurality of units for containing pills and coupled to each other via a connection means, for example a peg and a slot, or a rail and a track. The rows and the columns of the pill organizer correspond to the days of the week and the time of the day, respectively. The units can attach and detach from one another, thereby creating a custom-tailored pill organizer. Again, this pill organizer may not assure the patients to take the right medication, since all the units are accessible.
Therefore, there is a need for a pillbox which allows the patients to take the right medication, at the right time, on the right day, at the right dose, no matter where the patients are. There is another need for a pillbox which enhances medication compliance and reduces adverse drug reactions in a cost-effective way.